Brand Identity: 6 Components that Define the Company's Style

What is a brand identity and why does your company need it?

Brand identity is a visual representation that helps build recognition, reputation, and distinguishes businesses. That`s what turns a company into a brand. People around the world follow you and aspire to be associated with your brand, they are willing to choose it over others simply because it represents you and not someone else.

Among the vast variety of branding elements, corporate style is one of the key components. Visuals are the first thing a person sees. They serve as a company`s face. Logo, colors, packaging, flyers all contribute to creating a strong, clear, and cohesive brand. Visual representation communicates a brand's identity, product offerings, and what to expect from the company. Identity is the first touchpoint that lets a person understand if the company aligns with their personal preferences.

Key benefits of developing a brand identity:

• Ease. It is easy for customers to distinguish you from other companies, recognize you in the market, and remember you as their favorite company.
• Uniqueness. Psychologists say that every person is a unique individual with their own set of experiences, appearance, and way of thinking, but we have to cultivate self-awareness and master the art of effective self-presentation.  The same applies to businesses. Your project is unique in its form, and its identity serves to highlight this distinctiveness, even though there may be other projects in the same field.
• Speed. Being distinct from others lets you grow easier and faster. A unique visual style does all the job for you and helps retain customers.

When building a brand, it is important to answer the following questions:

• What do you want the audience to associate you with?
• Who is your target customer?
• What attracts your customers' attention?
• What are the company`s benefits?
• What feelings and emotions should a brand evoke?

These are fundamental questions that will help you start discovering your style and developing a brand book. Later you will have to decide on 6 main components: logo, colors, typography, photos and illustrations, graphic elements, and placement. In the next part, we will elaborate on each of these elements in detail.

Logo

This is the foremost element to be developed in the brand guide. Why? Because it appears everywhere: on websites, social networks, printed materials, photos, videos, products, packaging, and more. Logo should reflect your company, evoke emotions, and be easily remembered. Therefore, there are three main criteria of a modern logo: it must be simple, distinctive, and applicable to different contexts. While logos in the past tried to showcase all product details, modern logos can be a simple line or letter that embodies selling messages, identity, and clarity.

In our efforts to create an identity for RushB esports platform, Fresh Design team has come up with a new logo that reflects the company`s identity, while also setting it apart from competitors.

Having a brand concept developed, the company now boasts a logo, which:

• uses unique corporate fonts, which were created by our team specifically for the online platform;
• embodies the essence of the game and constant movement through the use of dynamic fonts, colors, and placement.
• comes in two visually cohesive versions, full-size and mini, both of which can be used on any media, be it online or offline.

Now its audience easily recognizes the company at events, distinguishes it from other logos, and constantly notices the brand due to its unique visual representation

Colors

A company's color scheme is of the same importance as its logo. A winning strategy for the brand concept is to have one distinctive color that customers would strongly associate with your brand. For example, Coca-Cola is associated with red, Pepsi with blue, Nike with black, and Chanel with gold. However, nowadays we have a challenge – all primary colors have already been claimed by long-established international companies. Fortunately, there is a solution – you can create a set of corporate colors instead. This creates fresh prospects and stimulates creativity while still fulfilling the goal of brand recognition.

Your color scheme should consist of at least three colors:

• Primary.
• Accent.
• Background.

It's essential to apply these colors consistently across all touchpoints with your audience – your website, mobile app, social media, and any marketing materials.

Typefaces

Some brands opt for typefaces as the primary element of their identity. They manually create unique typographic shapes. This, of course, sets them apart from the competition and makes a lasting impression. In some ways, typefaces can be a more effective tool for recognition than colors. However, our team believes in the power of combining different elements, so we develop comprehensive brand identities for our clients.

In 2022, we started working on a large project – Zoomies animal social network. Developing a strong brand identity was a crucial aspect of a successful launch strategy. It also included selecting suitable typefaces. For the logo, we have designed a unique typeface that reflects playfulness, lightness, and brightness. Soft letter shapes make it clear that the app is easy to use. This typeface can effectively draw attention to specific meanings or concepts. Our primary typeface choices were basic Baloo Paaji 2 and Open Sans to ensure good readability for users.

When choosing typefaces, it is important to consider the intended use cases and select typography that is suitable for each scenario. Additionally, it is crucial to make sure that all elements are displayed correctly on various digital platforms since there are instances where text appears in a default font such as Arial rather than the designated corporate font.

Illustrations

With the help of photos and illustrations, you can create a brand hero that customers will identify with, or that will represent the company and accompany the user in all their actions.

Brand positioning also guides the use of images. To decide on the style of your photos, ask yourself the following:

• Does this reflect our values, purpose, and mission?
• What would a person feel when looking at this image?
• Will the client remember this photo and make a strong association with the brand?

Always keep your overall brand strategy and goals in mind. By doing so, it will become clear which photos and illustrations will effectively communicate your brand's message.

Graphic elements

Style-forming elements can add up to your visual representation. They anchor your brand identity in people's minds, and they will start associating these details with your brand. Once your brand's colors and logo become recognizable, you can rely more on graphic elements, which take up less space on items like packaging or posters.

Graphic elements comprise a range of familiar or distinct shapes, including dots, lines (straight or curved), circles, squares, rectangles, rhombuses, and more. They are used either independently or in combination to create a variety of patterns.

Placement

In the final stage of identity development, it's necessary to determine how all the elements will be used across various media platforms, and also importantly, how not to use them. These are certain rules that the entire team will follow.

As a result of working with Agroapp, a lending platform for farmers, we have created a comprehensive brand guide that provides clear guidelines for further use of logo, approved color palettes, defined typefaces and fonts to be applied, and more. So, the Agroapp team has a clear understanding of how to utilize the visual elements to create and develop a memorable and effective brand identity.

How to create a brand identity?

Creating a strong brandbook requires a deep understanding of the market and competitors, as well as continuous development in marketing, design, and customer behavioral psychology. Equipped with the knowledge of essential elements and expert tips, you're now ready to create your own corporate identity. However, if you still need the help of specialists, FreshTech team is available to help you. With 15 years of experience in design and brand strategy, we help companies establish a unique presence in the market, improve customer acquisition, and achieve sustainable growth. Fill out the form below, and our manager will get back to you to provide information on developing a distinctive brand identity for your company.